religiousgamingfandomcom-20200213-history
Online Game Suite: MyBibleGames.com
My Bible Games (mybiblegmes.com) is a Christian game suite that was started by Tony Martin and David Auchampach in 2008 (1). Martin and Auchampach tout their site as “the Internet’s first Christian video game site” and have as their emblem, a video game controller who’s cord forms and morphs into a rainbow that leads to the Bible, the treasure at the end of the rainbow (1). Their aim in creating this site was to develop a new, fun way to spread awareness and information about God and the teachings of the Bible on the Internet (1). They hope that their site will provide a safe place for people to relax and enjoy themselves after work or school, which will also keep them involved with Christian ideals and teachings as they play. Their site includes 5 games: My Bible Millionaire, Wheel of Verses, Manna from Heaven, Followers of Christ and Tower of Babel, all of which are modeled after popular secular games, like Wheel of Fortune, Snake and Tetris (2). The games are generally centered on Christianity, but some will be more focused toward biblical learning or general education, while others are simply meant to provide a clean, moral space for gaming (3). The games are relatively simple in design, but the content of the games varies, making the site suitable for many ages. Successes in any of the games will earn players different awards for accomplishments such as reaching one million points or finishing the game (3). By playing the different games, a member can also accumulate gold, the universal site currency, which can be used on any game for things such as unlocking levels and features, making character upgrades and purchasing extra lives in a game, too (3). The various prizes and awards that can be won in the games are great incentive and provide encouragement and self-esteem to players of all ages. The site requires that anyone who would like to play the games must first create a membership, which may deter some people, but it is free, because Martin and Auchampach hope to always keep their site available to people no matter their income (1). The normal membership can, however, be upgraded to a Gold Membership, with one month or yearlong options (4). The money made from the Gold Memberships sold goes to support the site on their mission to provide a “completely unique way of ministering Christ to kids, teens, adults and families on the Internet” (4). The site is currently in a holding pattern, as they have run out of funds, and while they have designs for a few more games and features they would like to develop, they are currently not growing or adding anything new to their site. Their hope is to add “’player vs. player’ games and ‘chatting’ among members of the site” in order to create “a hub of Christian entertainment and interconnectivity” (1). Mybiblegames.com is not listed on archive.org, which I believe is due to the fact that it is such a small site (it has a total member list of just over 2200), but it seems to be a good alternative for people looking for a Christian gaming experience, though it is relatively limited on options. 1. http://www.mybiblegames.com/about.php 2. http://www.mybiblegames.com/games.php 3. http://www.mybiblegames.com/help.php 4. http://www.mybiblegames.com/index.php